Above Photo: Tim DeChristopher on “Days of Revolt.”
In this week’s episode of “Days of Revolt,” Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges sits down with Tim DeChristopher, founder of the Climate Disobedience Center.
The two analyze how the industrialized world fails to significantly confront climate change, beginning with the “exercise in make-believe” that was the 2015 Paris climate conference.
DeChristopher explains that the drastic effects of global warming aren’t just occurring in a vacuum. For example, water shortages in parts of the southern United States play out in areas with pre-existing social tensions, such as racism and xenophobia, creating the potential to trigger violent human responses. Another example is Syria, where, as DeChristopher points out, the CIA actually admitted that climate change accelerated the beginning of civil war.
Still, DeChristopher says, “I don’t think it’s inevitable that hardship pits people against one another. I think it’s also possible that hardship can be an awakening.” But he says he struggles to cope with the “mania of hope.”
He and Hedges agree that, especially among younger activists, spiritual motivations can be helpful in confronting the unraveling of the climate.
DeChristopher says that most scientists acknowledge that the current rate of climate change is unstoppable, but it’s time for the rest of the world to stop living in denial. Despite 175 nations signing a “landmark”agreement on climate change last week, the industrialized world still has a way to go in confronting the realities of climate change.
Watch the full interview below: